Movie Ticket Sales Continue to Drop

According to CNN.com, movie ticket sales continued to slump in 2011, dropping to their lowest levels since 1995.

Movie ticket revenues clocked in at $10.2 billion in 2011, down an estimated 3.5% from last year.

Hollywood has been hit from two different sides over the past couple of years - consumers have a multitude of different ways to consume their movies these days, plus the slumping economy has kept many families away from the theaters.

Movie ticket prices have surged 80% since 1995, which has caused many people to re-think their regular trips to the movie theater. Add in the outrageous cost of popcorn and pop at the theaters, and you have a recipe for slumping ticket sales.

Even if the US economy rebounds strongly over the coming years, donít expect a similar rebound in movie ticket sales.

The fact of the matter is that consumers have a great number of options that donít involve them having to leave their homes. Many people are choosing to enjoy the movie-going experience from the comfort of their own homes, thanks to streaming online movies and affordable large screen TVs. There are even TVs available these days that allow you to watch 3D movies. Watching a movie on your 60 inch plasma TV at home is not exactly a downgrade in the movie-watching experience, plus you donít have to worry about annoying people texting and talking on their cell phones, outrageous snack prices and transportation to and from the theater.

3D movies were originally thought to be the perfect tonic for a struggling movie industry a few years ago (3D movies have higher ticket prices), but consumers started to grow weary after being bombarded with a number of sub-standard movies.

A perceived degradation in the quality of movies these days (how many sequels and reboots do we need) and the declining starpower of A-list actors and actresses have also helped to drag down movie ticket sales.

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The bottom line is that movie theaters are probably going the way of the do-do bird thanks to rapidly changing technologies.